Ultra-conservative party plans tilt at claiming Dutton’s knife-edge seat

One Nation has plans to run a candidate against Peter Dutton in his marginal seat and will demanded a preference deal.

One Nation Leader Steve Dickson talks to voters at Buderim Mountain State School. Picture: Lachie Millard

One Nation has confirmed it now plans to run a candidate against Peter Dutton in his marginal seat, warning that the Coalition would have no chance of retaining government without a preference swap with the minor party.

One Nation’s Queensland leader, Steve Dickson, and Pauline Hanson’s senior advisers yesterday claimed credit for the leadership challenge against Malcolm Turnbull, seeing it as a Liberals bid to blunt the popularity of the ultra-conservative party.

Mr Dickson said the increasing threat of One Nation and its growing support base, particularly in the state’s regions and urban fringes, had forced a series of policy backdowns by Mr Turnbull in recent months, and ultimately the challenge by Mr Dutton.

One Nation picked up just one seat at Queensland’s state election in November, but claimed more than a quarter of the primary vote in other electorates, with its preferencing against several sitting Liberal National Party members resulting in their defeat.

Mr Dickson said if the Liberal leadership were to change, the new prime minister needed “to be realistic’’ and seek a preference swap with One Nation.

“If the Coalition want to stop Bill Shorten taking control of the lower and upper house, then they need to come to the realisation that they need to put One Nation above Labor and the Greens and others on how-to-vote cards,’’ he said.

“The reality is that Labor relies on the Greens to get them into government with their preferences; it is a de facto coalition even if they try and deny it.’’

Queensland’s LNP organisation has been driving the campaign for Mr Dutton to take the leadership, believing he is its only hope of galvanising conservative supporters in the state where eight of the Coalition’s 21 seats are held on margins of 4 per cent of less.

Mr Dickson said One Nation would run candidates across the country and planned to contest Mr Dutton’s seat of Dickson, in Brisbane’s northern suburbs, which borders Longman, won by Labor at the July 28 by-election.

Last month, the LNP refused One Nation’s offer to swap preferences at the by-election, at which One Nation’s Matthew Stephen won 15.9 per cent of the vote.

At the 2016 election, One Nat­ion did not a run a candidate in Dickson, which Mr Dutton holds on a 2 per cent margin after an electoral redistribution this year.

Mr Dickson said should Mr Dutton become prime minister, it was difficult to gauge the impact on One Nation’s support, which he attributed partly to Mr Turnbull’s leadership.

“People have been coming to One Nation in droves; they want this change,’’ he said.

“If Dutton gets up, we would want to talk to him; he has a similar belief system to ours.’’